


The Same Shadow, The Same Voice

by anastasiapullingteeth



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Emotionally Repressed, F/F, Past Abuse, Self-Acceptance, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-06 00:25:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11024706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anastasiapullingteeth/pseuds/anastasiapullingteeth
Summary: Éponine and Cosette befriend each other by chance, they have sex almost by accident, and become life partners by choice.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first time writting this pairing, I apologize in advance.
> 
> Tittle taken from _Igual que yo_ [Mon Laferte].

Éponine sighed deeply as she stared at the ceiling absentmindedly. She could hear some rustle coming from outside the door that meant Montparnasse was trying to steal her cigars again - which was a complete waste of time since Éponine had quit it about three months ago, but it was clear Montparnasse wasn't listening to her. Again.

She rubbed her sore eyes, resigned to having to kick the man out of her apartment herself, and rose from the bed. She walked barefoot to the source of the annoying sound, and stood under the doorframe, wrinkling her nose at seeing Montparnasse butt naked in the middle of the kitchen, happily drinking a cup of coffee that was, undoubtedly, mixed with alcohol; Éponine tugged unconsciously at her oversized t-shirt, covering a little bit more of her thighs in the process.

"Hey, waddup?" the man greeted her, lifting the mug in her direction.

"What are you still doing here?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Uhh, someone's grumpy. I guess that's a 'no' for the morning quickie, uh?" Montparnasse faked a pout, and then took a big sip of his coffee, moaning obscenely at the flavor in his mouth, before looking back at Éponine, still licking his lips. "What's got your panties in a twist, kitten? You seemed desperate for me last night."

"Don't call me that." Éponine rolled her eyes and approached him to snatch the mug out of his hands, emptying its contents in the sink. "And get out of here."

Montparnasse didn't even blinked at her harsh words and, instead, reduced the distance between them to wrap an arm around Éponine's waist, bringing her closer to his body; he took advantage of his position to lick the lobe of her ear and suck on it in a gesture Éponine guessed it was meant to be sexy; she cringed a little and pushed him away from her. "I'm serious. Get the fuck out of here."

"Fine," he complied, moving around the small apartment in search of his clothes. Once he was dressed and as decent as someone could expect from a man like him, Montparnasse left the apartment, blowing a kiss in Éponine's direction as he adjusted the crotch of his jeans. Éponine would never say it aloud in the man's presence, but she felt relieved that Montparnasse showed that laid-back attitude, because it meant he wasn't angry; he never seemed angry, no matter how rude and distant Éponine acted.

As pathetic as it sounded, Montparnasse was the only one that had stayed in Éponine's life. They weren't exactly friends, and of course he wasn't her boyfriend, but they'd been sleeping together for about a year. He lived two floors down from her apartment and had a bad reputation of being a womanizer - among other horrible things, but those didn't concern Éponine. All she cared about was that he'd be ready to get it on whenever she needed. Éponine was well aware she was using him but, in her defense, he was using her, too, to get booze and the occasional drug from Éponine's job at the local pharmacy. It was a win-win situation, and Éponine made sure to avoid him as much as she could, anyway, resisting her starvation for intimacy to the last consequences, until she felt physically ill for lack of human contact; it could be months between each encounter.

That was the heart of the matter: Éponine wasn't after the sex, she was after the skin-on-skin touch.

One day, on an afternoon of sudden introspection, Éponine had come to realize she'd never been in love with anyone. Not really. When she was a teenager, there was a boy, Marius, that visited his grandpa in the house next to hers. She only saw him on the weekends and, for a long time, she was infatuated with him. Later on she discovered what she really wanted from him was to be seen and nothing else. Marius was kind to her, and she craved the attention she didn't get at home. Now that she was a grown up, she'd channeled that need into sex because that was the only way she could get what she needed. It was a terrible arrangement and Éponine felt disgusted after each of those encounters, but it worked, somehow.

With a last look at the door, Éponine went back inside the bedroom. She had to hurry up if she wanted to be on time at work. Half an hour later, she grabbed her keys and left the apartment, dragging her feet.

 

The clock was striking noon when Éponine saw her entering the pharmacy. Her blonde hair was tied up in two messy buns on the top of her head, and her violet dress flowed around her feet as she walked through the aisles. Éponine kept looking at her, mesmerized, until a person approached the counter and she had to focus all her attention on them. When she looked up again, the blonde was nowhere near, so she thought she hadn't found what she was looking for and had left the place. A couple of minutes later, though, she saw her again standing in front of her with a pack of pads in her hands.

"Oh, hi!" the blonde greeted, handing her the money. "I didn't know you worked here." She seemed genuinely happy to see Éponine, and that surprised her. She attributed the light blush tinting her cheeks, as well as that weird feeling in her stomach, to that same surprise.

"I used to have the night shift, but now I have a double turn," she clarified once she noticed the blonde was trying to make conversation, feeling dreadful because she couldn't remember the girl's name.

She was her front door neighbor and, as far as Éponine knew, she already lived there when Éponine moved. She knew nothing about her, except that she lived alone and had a small dog she took for walks every morning, when Éponine left for work. They hadn't exchanged more than a few nods here and there when they came across each other in the hallway, so Éponine consoled herself with the thought that the blonde probably didn't know her name, either.

"Well, sorry. I gotta go," the other woman announced, sheepishly. "This is kind of an emergency. I wasn't expecting it to happen today, you know?" she whispered, pointing at herself below the waist.

"Oh! Yes, of course! Uhm, thanks for your purchase?" She winced at her words, but the blonde seemed pleased.

"Sure, see ya!"

Before she could get too far, Éponine had an idea she wasn't going to waste. "Wait!" she called, biting her lips when the blonde turned around. "Uhm... There's a bathroom here, if you want... You know."

"Seriously? It won't get you in trouble?"

Yes. "No, it's fine. Come on. It's in the back."

Éponine opened the small door and let her go behind the shelves as she assisted the other clients. After a couple of minutes, the blonde appeared again at Éponine's right, with relief visible in her smile; Éponine couldn't contain her affectionate snort but, even against her better judgment, she didn't stop to think about it. "Everything in order?" she asked.

"Oh, yes. Thank you so much, Éponine. You saved my life."

Well, shit. She remembered Éponine's name, it was only her the one that couldn't display basic manners. "Sure, no problem." She didn't have to address her by name, right? Right.

Funny though, the blonde didn't leave the pharmacy once her problem had been solved and, to Éponine’s uninterrupted surprise, waited next to the counter until Éponine ended selling some vitamins to an old lady. She approached her again, with her hands behind her back. "You said you had a double shift, didn't you?" the blonde asked without hesitation or further explanation, standing right in front of her to avoid being ignored in any form -as if Éponine could ignore her. After Éponine nodded, she grinned widely and said, "Do you have, like, a day off or something?"

"Yeah, on Wednesdays. Why?"

"Well, I owe you one, and we've been neighbors for three years but we've never spoken until now," Éponine cocked her head, a little worried about the blonde's determined look. "So, what if you cross the hallway next Wednesday to have a girls' night with me? It'd be fun!"

Éponine had never been participant of a girls' night, ever, and she wasn't sure she knew what it consisted of. She wasn't sure why the other girl would want to spend the night with someone as boring as her, but whatever, she was tempted to accept exactly because of that. However, she refused as nicely as she could; the blonde's face fell noticeably. "I mean. I only let you use the bathroom, it was nothing."

The other woman nodded, and crossed her arms over the counter, stepping on her tiptoes to be closer. "Okay, then I'm going to ask you directly: I'd love to hang out with you. You're the only other girl in our floor and I seriously think we should be friends. I've meant to invite you over for a long time, but I thought it'd be pushy. So, Éponine, would you like to come over and eat ice-cream with me while we watch talk-shows?"

That'd certainly been directly. Éponine sighed, thinking that, if she didn't feel like it that day, she could always cancel. "Okay. I'll come."

The blonde was pure happiness when she left the pharmacy after instructing Éponine to just show up at six o'clock without anything else but herself. "Oh!" she said, coming back over her steps. "My name's Cosette. In case you'd forgotten. See you on Wednesday!"

 

By the time Wednesday arrived, Éponine was astonishingly calmed. Early in the morning, she'd considered canceling, but a part of her was incredibly curious about what the blonde - Cosette, her mind replaced- had in store for her. At six o'clock, she checked her outfit in front of the mirror and got mentally prepared for what was about to happen, assuming she was nervous because it was the first real, close interaction with other human being that wasn't Montparnasse. That probably didn't justify why she'd changed her clothes about ten times before deciding for what she was wearing when she left the place.

Éponine knocked on the door across from hers and the sight that welcomed her made her wish she had a camera: Cosette received her wearing her pajamas and fluffy slippers with bunny ears. Her hair fell free over her shoulders and a pair of black-frame glasses rested over her nose. Éponine felt overdressed with her jeans and long-sleeve sweater.

"Uh... Nice slippers?" she mumbled, pointing at Cosette's feet.

"I know, right? They're the comfiest," the blonde thanked her and stepped aside to let her in. "I have a spare if you want them."

The apartment looked considerably smaller in comparison to Éponine's own place, but it was probably due to the amount of things Cosette had on every available surface. Photographs, magazines, stuffed toys, nail polishes of every conceivable color, and even a line of cacti could be seen on the shelves. While Éponine's flat wasn't exactly a dumpster, it was considerably less... colorful and had less stuff laying around. She liked to think she had minimalist taste, but she knew it wasn't because of that.

She approached what she guessed was Cosette's workplace in a corner of the living room, and inspected the desk. There were a bunch of dictionaries around a pile of papers with weird marks all over. "What'd you do for a living?" she questioned her, casually, running her fingers over the paper on top of the pile.

"Oh, I translate books and stuff. You know, all about linguistics."

They went back to the couch where Cosette offered her a seat. The coffee table was full of junk food and movies that the blonde had as a plan "B", in case they get bored. She grabbed the remote and turned her face to Éponine.

"So. Ready for the show?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos! You rock.
> 
> NSFW scene ahead ;)

Wednesday nights became a regular thing between Éponine and Cosette. At first, it'd taken Éponine almost two months to accept she enjoyed those days, and so she'd skipped one or two of those Wednesdays, under the excuse that she had other plans. She never had plans. She spent those days hiding in her apartment, wondering if Cosette had, maybe, invited someone else. But Cosette kept inviting her every week, like she... like she didn't want to give up on her. Six weeks after the first night, Éponine stopped looking for excuses.

They'd become friends rather quickly, at least for Éponine's standars. After Cosette convinced Éponine to give her phone number, they spent hours texting each other, trying to compensate for those three years they hadn't exchanged more than a few courtesies. Cosette was incredibly funny and she seemed to accept Éponine as she was. She'd always had difficulties to open up to people or even form any kind of friendly relationship, but with Cosette was different. She looked at her with fondness Éponine had never experienced before, and she was discovering how much she liked it.

"And then this woman takes off the hoodie and, surprise, she's the friend, and, like, she planned everything to get revenge from the other chick, who, by the way, couldn't really see ghosts, more like she was predicting the future. Bum, plot twist. Completely ridiculous."

Éponine was comfortably sitting on the couch of Cosette's living room, listening to the blonde telling the end of the last movie she'd seen while serving ice-cream in two bright pink cups. It was midsummer and the heat was unbearable. Cosette padded through her apartment in only short-shorts and a tank top that showed some glimpses of her bra, suggesting Éponine did the same. She wasn't as comfortable in her own skin as the blonde, but had accepted to show up in a sleeveless blouse, as long as she could keep her jeans. Cosette had pouted, but didn't push beyond that.

"I don't understand why you watch those if you hate them that much," Éponine commented, accepting one of the cups.

"Oh, no! I love mainstream, horror movies," Cosette said, flopping next to her on the couch. "They make absolutely no sense, that's so funny."

Éponine snorted, licking her spoon clean before digging it into the ice-cream again. Cosette, however, wasn't eating. She was looking at Éponine with a fond smile. "What?" Éponine inquired.

"Nothing, sorry." She looked away, and brought the spoon to her lips, stopping before it could come to contact with them. After a few seconds of silence, she said, "Actually, sorry, but... Uhm, I was just wondering if I could, maybe, lie down on your legs? I don't meant to be weird and you can say no, but. You kinda look comfy and I'm too lazy to stay upright."

Éponine looked at her in mild shock and bit her lips nervously. Since the first time they'd hung out, Éponine had noticed Cosette was incredibly affectionate. She touched her arm every time she could, complimented her on her looks when they stumbled upon the other in the hallway, and she greeted her every other morning with a nice text. That kind of fondness was part of Cosette's personality, but Éponine was still getting used to it and the blonde's previous request had taken her by surprise. She tugged at her blouse insistently, before babbling an incoherent response.

"Oh, uh..."

"Okay, I get it, sorry," Cosette apologized, blushing slightly. "That was weird, wasn't it? I shouldn't have asked."

"No, eh, it's fine." It was. Really. Now that Cosette had thrown the question, Éponine wanted her to lay down on her thighs. "You can... I mean, go on. It's okay."

Cosette smiled widely, resting her head on Éponine's lap while facing the TV. Éponine would've admired her ability to eat in that position if she weren't distracted by Cosette's silky hair falling over her legs. She wanted to touch it, and for a moment she wished she'd worn the stupid shorts after all, but thought it was better to focus on the sweet treat in her hands. She barely managed to stop her flinching when Cosette's voice filled the silence.

"No, Chewy! I can't give you this, it's bad for you!" Cosette was saying to the small schnauzer that was trying to lick the ice-cream out of the blonde's spoon. Éponine laughed, watching her fight back the stubborn dog, pushing him away when he tried to climb up on her. Cosette, resigned, removed her head from Éponine's lap and sat upright. "Stupid dog," she mumbled; Éponine shared the sentiment.

 

A few weeks later, on one of her weekly visits, Éponine took a false step.

Or something like that. Éponine wasn't sure how to interpret it yet.

Cosette was in the kitchen, making popcorn, when Éponine crossed the doorframe, offering help. "Nah, it's fine," Cosette assured. "Go back to the couch. I'll be there in a minute."

But Éponine did not move. She stayed at the doorframe admiring Cosette's figure as she leaned against the counter with her eyes focused on the microwave's clock. Éponine bit her lips, ashamed of how her own eyes couldn't stop looking at the curve of Cosette's waist and hips. Their friendship had turned more tactile after that one time on the couch, and Éponine wondered if that allowed her to approach the blonde and maybe hug her from behind. She started walking but didn't make it far. While entering the kitchen, she'd looked outside Cosette's window and something had caught her attention. She was now staring at a calendar with collages that looked suspiciously similar to the one she'd made herself a while ago. She stopped still in the middle of the room. "Hey. Is that ... Is that my kitchen?" she stuttered.

Cosette looked to where Éponine was pointing at, and made an affirmative sound. "You don't look out of your own window that much, do you?" Éponine shook her head slowly. "Well, I do it all the time. I've seen you there, should've I said hi?"

Éponine felt the short hair at the back of her neck standing up in fear. She was absolutely terrified, not of Cosette seeing her, but of the chances of her seeing someone else in there. Someone that found joy in walking around her apartment completely naked. Éponine swallowed hard. "So..." she began awkwardly. "Anything interesting you'd seen there?"

Cosette took her chin, as if in deep thought. "Now that you mention it, you should maybe check the cupboard on the right. I think the painting is peeling off and the door is broken."

"Uh?" Éponine babbled, surprised. Great, she was in the clear. "Okay... Thanks?"

"You're welcome," Cosette said, cheerfully, pouring the popcorn in a big bowl. "Oh, and I don't know if you've noticed, but sometimes there's a naked guy stealing from your cupboards. I thought you should know."

"Oh, my God!" Éponine blushed furiously while Cosette's laugh echoed in the room. She was clearly amused by the whole situation, but Éponine felt embarrassed, like she'd been caught up doing something she shouldn't. Having sex with a guy like Montparnasse was something absolutely no one should do, but it wasn't that kind of wrong Éponine was thinking about.

"He seems..." Cosette trailed off.

"A total jerk?" Éponine supplied for her.

The blond snorted. "I wouldn't say that of your, uh, boyfriend? But he seems interesting. Montparnasse, isn't he? I've heard of him."

Éponine felt the need to explain. "Not my boyfriend-"

"Oh, so you let your friends walk naked in your apartment. Let me know when I can come over."

"He's... he's not even a friend."

"I see. Do you mind me asking why you hang out with him, then?"

Éponine asked herself that, too, every time she slept with Montparnasse, but so far hadn't come up with an answer. He was the only one that accepted her mood swings, or her completely lack of social skills. He didn't ask her to be tender, or sweet, he didn't even ask her to be consistent; he didn't expect anything from her and, as long as he wore a condom when they fucked, Éponine didn't ask anything from him, either. They were each other escapism, to say it in a way. Probably not the most appropriate, but it was something. She told all this to Cosette -minus a few particular details-, and waited for the blonde's reaction while eating popcorns, feigning disinterest to avoid looking at her.

"Isn't he... dangerous?" Cosette asked with authentic worry, enough to stop Éponine from laughing at her words.

Montparnasse wasn't dangerous; he was just a lucky bastard. But Éponine knew where Cosette was coming from; Éponine was relaying her emotional stability into someone that didn't give two fucks about her. She wasn't in love, she wasn't infatuated, but she was dependent and, as any other addiction, it wasn't the best for her. Cosette's worry was understandable, even when she didn't know the whole story.

"It's fine," she said dismissively. "He's, like, the best option around here, I could do worse."

"Don't say that. Now you have me, don't you?” Cosette said, moving closer and wraping her fingers around Éponine's hand.

"What?"

"We are friends. And if you need me, you just have to knock on the door."

Éponine swallowed the knot in her throat and cupped Cosette's face with her free hand. She looked into the blonde's eyes, wanting to absorb the look on her face. Without neither knowing nor caring what was driving her to do it, she brought their faces closer, giving Cosette enough time to step back if she wanted to. She smiled encouragingly and Éponine took that as a yes. She was going to kiss her. She was going to do it.

The moment their lips met, Éponine felt electricity running down her spine. It felt different than kissing Montparnasse; maybe it was the taste of strawberry lip-gloss o the other's mouth, or how incredibly soft and supple her lips were, but it was something Éponine, for once, was actually enjoying. Cosette moved her hands to rest possessively on Éponine's waist, pulling her backwards until they reached the sofa.

The blonde sat down, finally letting go of Éponine's body, and looked up at her. "We can stop whenever you want," she assured, panting slightly. "This is... You don't have to-"

But Éponine didn't let her finish. She pushed Cosette gently until her back was on the cushions, and positioned herself between those amazing legs that always drove her crazy. She kissed her again and again, finally allowing her hands to move all over the body under her. The moment Cosette arched her back to be closer to her and Éponine felt her round breasts pressed flush against her, she knew she'd lost the battle.

"Can I?" she asked in between kisses.

Cosette nodded and Éponine loaded her weight into one of her arms to leave a hand free. She reached for the button and zipper of Cosette insanely tight shorts and worked them open. She caressed from her belly button downwards until her hand slipped inside her flowery panties; she look up to see into Cosette's eyes one more time before driving a finger between her folds to pleasure her.

Cosette's moans filled the living room and that only elicited Éponine's arousal. She could feel her own underwear getting completely soaked now, as the delicious smell of Cosette's fluids hit her nostrils, and she had to resist the urge to tuck her hand inside her own pants.

Éponine rubbed the pad of her index finger against Cosette's clitoris, circling it gently and enjoying Cosette's breathing becoming increasingly erratic. The blonde's hands didn't stop to travel over Éponine's body, leaning on one of his elbows to leave wet kisses along Éponine's collarbones and the top of her chest that was visible through the open buttons of her blouse. She helped her out of it completely, whining when Éponine's fingers were forced to leave her vulva, and licked her nipples through the soft fabric of her purple bra.

Éponine grunted, reaching between Cosette's thighs until her fingers felt the blonde's soft labia. She introduced a finger inside her, and her free arm tensed in an attempt to stay upright when Cosette clung to her, moaning loudly after the digit's intrusion. Her hands were now squeezing Éponine's ass still inside her jeans and she force her fingers to undo the buttons. "This is a two way street, my love," the blond panted against her ear. "It's only fair."

Éponine was sure her scream of pleasure had been heard throughout the building.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **For Nali ([@alopey](http://alopey.tumblr.com)) ❤**

Éponine didn’t spend the night at Cosette’s.

After the both of them reached their orgasm, they fell asleep on the couch with their legs and hands intertwined; Éponine wondered if Cosette could feel her rapid heartbeat, or the slight trembling of her body. When they woke up, the blonde had offered her to stay the night, as she always did, but for the first time, Éponine had declined. Her head was a complete chaos and she needed some time alone to work things out. Cosette had kissed her cheek at her apartment door, but Éponine kept walking before she could change her mind.

When Éponine said she’d never been in love, she hadn't considered women in that equation. They were... nice to look at, and if she'd imagined herself French kissing one or two, but it was her hormones' fault. Every time she saw Cosette, though, she got that weird feeling inside her stomach. Cosette was sweet, and nice, and a complete nerd with a terrible singing voice that didn't stop her from belting out at the slightest provocation. She also had killer thighs and two perky breasts that made Éponine's legs turn into jelly. But she was afraid she could ruin their friendship, since she suspected she was developing feelings for her only friend, Cosette Fauchelevent.

It was about one am when Éponine finally fell asleep, thinking about what had happened. Her mind kept replying the images in form of dreams and, for a moment, Éponine seemed more content. She saw Cosette laying in her bed, her blonde hair falling over the pillows as she arched her back in pleasure. Her hands were reaching for Éponine and she could practically feel the soft pad of her fingers caressing her neck and the small of her back. She was pulling her down for a kiss when the scene suddenly changed before Éponine's terrified eyes: Cosette walking away without sparing a second glance at her.

Éponine woke up with a jolt. She looked around, feeling completely lost to find herself in her own bedroom, alone. The bright numbers on her alarm clock indicated it was past four in the morning; too early for work, too late to do anything that wouldn't bother her neighbors. And speaking of... had that afternoon with Cosette really happened or it'd been part of her dream? She ran her hand over the expanse of her arms and legs where she could still feel Cousette's gentle fingers.

Éponine bit her lip nervously. Her heart was beating hard with the last reminiscence of the nightmare and, with shaky hands, she took her cellphone and sent Cosette a text, pleading she wouldn't get mad for waking her up.

_Are you awake?_

_I am now. Are you okay?_

Éponine hesitated. She wasn't okay but the mere thought of revealing her vulnerable state had her frozen. Before she could answer, though, her phone buzzed in her hand.

_It was a nightmare? I can go there and scare it away._

Éponine nodded before remembering Cosette couldn't see her. She'd mentioned before in passing about the anxiety and bad dreams and she was touched by the thought of Cosette remembering that about her when no one had cared before. Éponine typed her reply and went to the door, doing breathing exercises to calm herself. The soft knock on the door made her jump, and she hurried to let Cosette in. The blonde was standing in the hallway with a different pair of slippers Éponine hadn't seen and, once the door was locked behind them, Cosette wrapped her arms around Éponine's shoulders, pulling her down for a tight hug.

"You're shaking," she pointed out into Éponine's ear. "Was it that bad?"

Cosette wasn't really expecting an answer and, using the arm still around Éponine, she guided her to the bedroom, rubbing soothing circles on the small of her back. Éponine let her maneuver her until she was resting on the mattress with her back pressed to Cosette's chest. "It's fine, I got you," Cosette murmured, kissing the top of her head.

Éponine woke up a second time with the feeling of fingers running through her hair. For a moment, she thought it was Montparnasse; she was about to push him away when the small part of her brain that was slightly more awake, made her remember she hadn't seen the man in quite a while. Éponine opened her eyes slowly and saw Cosette's beautiful smile a few inches above her.

At some point during the morning, Cosette had woken up and sat against the headboard, with Éponine's head over her thighs. "Good morning, sunshine," she greeted her, running her fingers down Éponine's cheek.

"Good morning. What time is it?"

She felt Cosette shifting under her to look at the alarm clock. "It's eight o' clock. Do you have to leave for work?"

Éponine rolled to her stomach, pressing her face into Cosette's belly and wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist. "Not 'till ten. I still have time."

They had breakfast together at Éponine's flat. She had barely any food in the fridge but between them, they managed to cook something decent. Cosette, Éponine noticed, was cautious around her; she wouldn't touch her as much as she used to, but, every time they were face to face, her eyes moved down to Éponine's lips. She could feel her heavy gaze upon her, and that gave her goosebumps.

"Hey," Éponine broke the silence when she couldn't take it anymore. They were eating at the table and, when Cosette lifted her eyes to look at her, she was smiling sweetly; Éponine's fingers twitched over the tablecloth. "I, uh, thank you. For coming here last night..." _Even after I ran away_ , she didn't say, but it was written in her eyes.

Cosette looked down at her plate for a second. She lifted her face again moment later and stretched her hand to offer it to Éponine, who intertwine their fingers immediately. "I promised I'd be here for you-"

"I like you," Éponine blurted up.

"Excuse me?"

"I... like you?" Éponine repeated, feeling discouraged by Cosette's incredulous look. "I... You're my friend, and I love you as such, but... But I... like... I think I'm in love with you?" Cosette was frowning but now that Éponine had started talking, she couldn't shut up until she left everything out. "I'd never really considered it before but you're so hot and... Yesterday was, like, a dream I didn't want to wake up of but I got cold feet because I didn't know if you felt the same -and it's okay if you don't-, but I needed you to know... that... I like you."

Cosette giggled, tightening her hold on Éponine's fingers. She hid her face behind her free hand, not before Éponine caught a glimpse of red tinting her cheeks. "I... I've had a crush on you for three years!” she said, biting her lip.

"You... really?"

She uncovered her face before finally speaking, still smiling widely. "Yeah... But I was too scared to talk to you. Then I saw you with Montparnasse and, well I thought I didn't have a chance... You know how hard it was not to stare at your ass in those jeans every time I saw you in the hallway? I tried to play it cool after we became friends but, damn! It was even harder!"

"Probably as hard as it is not to kiss you right now."

Cosette cocked her head with a playful smile on her lips. Éponine surrounded the table, her eyes trained on Cosette's own, and sat on the blonde's lap. She was ready for work whereas Cosette was still wearing her pajamas; she smiled at the contrast of their skins where her hand touched Cosette's neck. She bent forward and locked their lips together, exploring the inside of Cosette's mouth with her tongue. Cosette smiled on the kiss and kept smiling when she kissed her again before leaving the apartment a moment later; Éponine could still taste her on her lips when she began her morning shift at the pharmacy.

Éponine was walking back home later that day when she saw Montparnasse standing outside their building with a few guys that Éponine recognized as members of _Patron Minette_ , a local gang that mainly stole auto parts. Éponine took a deep breath and kept walking, trying to show confidence, even though the arms she had wrapped around herself gave her away.

As soon as Montparnasse saw her coming, he smiled mischievously and made a bow before moving out of the way to let her in. Éponine rolled her eyes and wasn't surprised when the man, instead of going back to his previous conversation, followed her inside the building. "Where have you been, kitten?" he asked, walking beside her with her hands clasped together behind his back. "It's been a long time, I was starting to miss you."

"Not now, Montparnasse," she retorted. "I'm busy."

"And why's that, honey? Did you find my replacement?" Éponine snorted and pressed the lift button. Montparnasse leaned back against the wall, facing her. "I've heard rumors, kitten," he whispered, looking at both ends of the hallway. "I heard you were making sweet, sweet love to that blonde chick that lives in front of you. That true?"

Éponine glared at him, furious; it was none of his business. "And what if I am? What do you care?"

The lift came to a stop and the doors opened. Montparnasse blocked them before Éponine could get inside. "I don't care," he assured. "But I'm going to miss you. He moved out of the way and before the doors closed, he said: "Have a happy life, _mon cheri_. I'll be cheering for you from the bleachers."

The last thing Éponine saw was Montparnasse lifting his hat in her direction, smiling. She leaned back against the opposite wall, feeling an inexplicable fondness for the man.

 

 

"My sister is coming today. Wanna stay and meet her?" Éponine asked from the bathroom.

Cosette was lying on her bed where the light of the early morning sun casted over her through the open windows. She let go the laces of her flannel shorts she'd been playing with, and looked up at her with surprised. "Oh... Yeah, of course. If you're... if you're sure about it?"

Éponine brushed her teeth to avoid answering immediately. She didn't know where that had come from, but she wanted to introduce Cosette to every part of her life. She spat into the sink and cleaned her mouth with the back of her hand. "I want you to stay," she said in a whisper, standing nervously at the door connecting the bathroom with the bedroom.

Cosette extended her hand for Éponine to take and she walked back to the bed. They intertwined their fingers and Cosette pulled her down to kiss her lips. It was tender and soft, and Éponine couldn't suppress a whine. When they broke apart, Éponine pushed Cosette back to the mattress, gently. "I'll show you how much I want you to stay," she whispered with her lips pressed against the blonde's belly.

Cosette spread her legs to make room for Éponine and caressed her dark hair as the other woman hooked her fingers in the waistband of her shorts, lowering them down slowly. "I like where this is going," Cosette moaned.

Azelma, Éponine's sister, called an hour later to tell her she was a little but late, which was a relief since they hadn't left the bed yet. They took a quick shower -separately, they didn't have time to do anything else-, and cleaned the apartment as best as they could in such little time. Éponine was throwing away the trash when they heard a knock on the door.

"Cosette, this is Azelma. Azelma, this is Cosette."

The girls shook their hands and, once the required introductions were made, Éponine excused herself to the kitchen, leaving them in the living room. When she was walking back to them with something to drink, she heard them talking quietly. Something in Azelma's voice made her think she was worried.

"I don't want to intrude, but... are you together?" she asked.

"What did she tell you?" Cosette said. They hadn't talked about that, and Éponine was thinking now that may have been a mistake.

"Nothing, but I know her. I mean, I didn't know she was into girls and I'm not judging but, by the way she talked about you, I think she has a thing for you."

"Does she?"

"I think so. But I'm not sure if that's a good thing." There was silence in the living room and Éponine had to suppress the urge to poke her head inside to see Cosette's face. Azelma spoke again before she could do it, though. "Look, I know her and she can be a little... hard to handle. I wouldn't let my hopes up if I were you."

"What do you mean?" Cosette inquired with a week voice.

"I mean she can be a little distant sometimes. She may look loving now, but she'll change, she's... She has issues, I wouldn't like you to get hurt."

Éponine considered running out of the door and get away from there. Azelma was her only family, she had been there to see her relationships fail one after the other, it was logic she thought it was going to be the same with Cosette. Éponine wanted to believe this time would be different, that Cosette would accept her, but she was afraid of hurting the girl. Azelma did well in warning her.

After a long pause, Cosette spoke. "Well, we all have our own baggage, don't we? I can see your trying to protect me, and I'm grateful for it, but. I wanna be with her. I think I love her. We're going to make it work, there's nothing you should worry about."

Éponine smiled shyly and walked inside the living room. "Here, I brought us drinks," she announced, placing the tray on the coffee table. She took a seat next to Cosette and the blonde scoot closer to kiss her cheek, murmuring a soft 'thank you' into her ear.

Azelma look at them above the rim of her glass and smirked. "You're cute. I ship it."

That was more than enough for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is nowhere near what I wanted when I started writing it, but that's a good thing. I hope you'd liked it, too.
> 
> Thanks for reading! And get ready for [**#AggressivelyArospecWeek**](http://aggressivelyarospec.tumblr.com/post/159383784050/welcome-back-to-aggressively-arospec-week-the) in a few days!


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